Biggest near-Earth asteroid recorded by NASA will make a pass in September

This file image released by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Monday, July 18, 2011 shows the asteroid Vesta, photographed by the Dawn spacecraft on July 17, 2011. Another asteroid known as 2010 WC9 will come close to Earth on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. NASA/JPLAP

This file image released by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Monday, July 18, 2011 shows the asteroid Vesta, photographed by the Dawn spacecraft on July 17, 2011. Another asteroid known as 2010 WC9 will come close to Earth on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. NASA/JPLAP

If Monday’s approaching solar eclipse has you excited about astronomy, there’s some good news: Not even two weeks later, another rare feat will pass us by. And miss us, thankfully.

An asteroid called Florence will pass within 4.5 million miles of Earth on Sept. 1, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced in a Thursday press release.

That’s 18 times the distance from the Earth to the moon. If that doesn’t sound impressive, consider its size: At 2.7 miles, Florence is the largest asteroid to pass Earth since NASA began tracking near-Earth asteroids. And this particular asteroid won’t come this close again until 2500, NASA says.

Unfortunately, it won’t be visible to the naked eye. But with a small telescope, stargazers can catch Florence several nights between late August and early September, near the Capricornus and Aquarius constellations, according to JPL.

These asteroids are the next in a string of remarkable celestial occurrences coming in a short time span. Overshadowed a bit by the coming eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower hit its peak last Saturday night, but a bright moon washed out many meteors from view during one of the year’s most popular showers.

Everyone is excited about the Solar Eclipse that is happening on Aug. 21, so here are some answers to those questions that you want to ask, but are too embarrassed to.